The extended hunting season for deer has come to a close, except for a few of those special regulation areas. As I reported last week, most hunting for small game continues until the end of February. Grouse season however, ends Jan. 23.

If you travel as we do, you’ll find the parking lots on game lands as barren as they had been before early October, when deer archery season began. It is proof in the pudding that whitetails remain our No. 1 game animal.

As we put a wrap on another deer season, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s board of game commissioners will meet from Jan. 31 through Feb. 2. It will be held in the agency's Harrisburg headquarters, 2001 Elmerton Ave., just off the Progress Avenue exit of Interstate 81 in Dauphin County. A link to a live stream of the meeting will be available on the agency’s home page following public comments.

Tentative Schedule: A copy of the agenda will be posted roughly two weeks prior to the meeting, and when I get my copy I will pass on the highlights.

On Sunday, Jan. 31, beginning at 1 p.m., the board will hear public recommendations for 2016-17 hunting and fur-taking seasons, and bag limits. Doors open at noon. Individuals interested in offering public testimony – limited to five minutes – may begin to register at noon on a first-come, first-to-speak basis. PowerPoint presentations will not be permitted during public comment.

On Monday, Feb. 1, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the board will hear any additional public comments followed by Game Commission staff reports. Doors open at 7:45 a.m. Registration for those interested in offering public testimony – limited to five minutes – also will begin at that time. PowerPoint presentations will not be permitted during public comment.

On Tuesday, Feb. 2, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the board will take up its prepared agenda to give preliminary approval to hunting and trapping seasons, and bag limits for 2016-17, and establish other meeting dates for the coming year, among other things. Doors open at 7:45 a.m.

Don Yorks enjoyed the bear display at the Great American Outdoor Show last year.(Photo: Karen Wolf/For The Daily News)

As usual, there will be a segment of the population interested in the meeting. Others feel that their input is like water rolling off a duck’s back. A far different atmosphere has taken place there, and I’m certain it will play out again this year.

The Great American Outdoor Show will be held at the Farm Show Complex again this year, a show that brings millions of dollars to the capitol city. But recent mayors have shunned the show, apparently because they display and offer guns for sale.

As contentious gun debates rage throughout the country, the show will go on, and the show sponsors have decided to contribute their donation of $50,000 dollars to four organizations. The first is The National Civil War Museum, selected for its educational contributions. In association with the Smithsonian Institution, the museum showcases a comprehensive portrayal of the American Civil War through a collection of more than 24,000 artifacts. The National Civil War Museum will be using funds from The NRA Foundation to construct a new exhibit recognizing firearm manufacturers of the Civil War era that are still in operation today, as well as highlighting gun safety programs, firearm education, and training offered through the NRA.

"The Civil War was one of the most turbulent eras in our nation's history, and we pride ourselves in our museum's unbiased look at its people, events and technology," said The National Civil Museum’s board chairman, Michael Love. "Thanks to this generous donation by the NRA, we look forward to enhancing a number of our exhibits."

The three other groups benefiting from the NRA’s donations are All 4 Kids Hunting, dedicated to inspiring and educating youth on wildlife conservation through a safe introduction to hunting; LEEK Hunting & Mountain Preserve, which facilitates outdoor recreational opportunities for wounded veterans; and Camo Cares, an annual recreational event that raises funds to send children with life-threatening illnesses, and wounded veterans, on hunts.

“Providing dream hunts for children and veterans who have faced tremendous hardships is an incredibly fulfilling act,” said Camo Cares co-founder Jason Say. “The NRA’s donation will go a long way toward increasing the number of hunts we will arrange this coming year.”

“We are grateful for the role these organizations play in continuing our country’s great shooting traditions,” said NRA general operations executive director Kyle Weaver. “The success of the Great American Outdoor Show grants us the opportunity to give back to the community that sustains it, and we look forward to assisting programs which support the outdoor lifestyle for years to come.”

The nine-day celebration of outdoor traditions is the largest consumer sports and outdoor show in the world, and it returns to Harrisburg, Feb. 6-14. Learn more about the Great American Outdoor Show at www.greatamericanoutdoorshow.org.

Access to private lands is something that has been difficult in recent years, but the Pennsylvania Game Commission has been working on improving hunter access. With more than 1.5 million acres of state game lands and nearly 3 million acres of state park, state forest and federal ground open to hunting, trapping and other uses by the public, opportunities to enjoy the outdoors exist almost everywhere in Pennsylvania.

But, through partnership and hard work, millions of acres of the state’s private lands are also open to the public. The Game Commission’s Hunter Access program is open to public hunting and trapping opportunities on about 2.6 million privately-owned acres.

The program was recently recognized by Outdoor Life magazine, which named the Game Commission as the recipient of the Outdoor Life Open Country Award, to be presented during the 2016 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas.

The award recognizes parties that actively help outdoorsmen face one of their toughest challenges: access to places to shoot, hunt and fish.

Hopefully, these kind of signs may diminish in the future.(Photo: Dave Wolf/For The Daily News)

There remains little doubt that more leased land for hunting and fishing purposes are in our future, and Karen and I are amazed at the number of lands posted “keep out.” We also find it interesting that on many of those dirt roads we travel, we find game lands and state forests on one side of the road, and “No Trespassing" signs on the other side.

Most of these signs are placed specifically by hunters who own the property, just so they can harvest a fair number of deer. I can’t help it if I mention deer in many of my articles, but I know what they have done for hunting.